


Cosmic Intervention

by somethingvaguetodo



Series: Can You Hear It Echoing [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU Yeah AUgust (Miraculous Ladybug), Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Identity Reveal, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 16:05:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15537891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingvaguetodo/pseuds/somethingvaguetodo
Summary: Marinette is reluctant to take a required class during her last semester of university. Fortunately for her, it might just work out for the best.





	Cosmic Intervention

**Author's Note:**

> This is for AU Yeah August, Day 2: College. Shout out to the organizers of AU Yeah AUgust for giving me some motivation to write. I did this instead of sleeping last night. I don't know if any of this is applicable to French universities, but instead I based it off of my own physics requirement freshman year of college. My TA was not a former model, but my lab group was fun, and included love, heartbreak, and someone leaving for Chicago before the semester ended. Let me know what you think.
> 
> I changed this from a compilation to a one shot, it was formerly called Can You Hear It Echoing. Hope that didn't cause too much confusion.

“Remind me why I’m taking an astrophysics class?” Marinette practically sobbed into her phone. 

Alya laughed. “Because you didn’t listen to me when we first started université and I said to take required courses early.”

Marinette groaned. Here she was, one semester away from graduating with a degree in fashion design, and her advisor reminds her of one silly natural science requirement that she needs to fulfill. She hiked the physics book in her left arm up higher, adjusting the way her phone rested between her ear and her shoulder. In her other hand she held tight onto an espresso. The textbook was so thick it didn’t fit into her backpack. Marinette felt like breaking down and crying. 

“You realize I understood absolutely nothing from the first lecture?” she asked Alya. “And all the professor did was review the syllabus. How can I get through a whole semester of quarks and white dwarves?”

“Maybe the lab instructor will be more helpful.” Marinette could practically hear the question in Alya’s voice. They both knew science was not Marinette’s strong suit, no matter who the instructor was. But having to attend this lab at all was another sore spot for her. This class required two lectures a week _plus_ a lab, which meant she was unable to take the extra textiles elective she had wanted. 

“Or I’ll flunk out of school because of this class and never get the opportunity to work for a fashion house.” Alya was used to her dramatics, and didn’t respond. “I’m here, I’d better go.”

“Text me after class,” Alya said before hanging up. Marinette let her phone drop onto her textbook. Even the physics building looked intimidating. It was tall, with narrow windows that looked like they let in very little light. Compared to the art buildings Marinette was used to, it looked like a prison. 

Tikki popped her head out of Marinette’s purse. “You can do it, Marinette!” she said. 

Marinette sighed. She faced down super villains weekly, and yet was intimidated by a building and a class about outer space. 

“You’re right, Tikki,” she said, straightening her back. “And maybe I can ask Chat to help me. He’s a big science nerd.”

“Good idea,” Tikki smiled, and feeling more confident, Marinette entered the building. 

She found the classroom easily, and found it already filling up with students. Most of them looked like first years, who were wisely getting their requirements out of the way. She took a seat in the back, and took out her dark blue physics notebook and matching pen. 

After a few minutes, a girl she recognized from the lecture sat next to her. “Hi, I’m Lila,” she introduced herself. 

Marinette looked up from her phone. “Marinette,” she said. “Are you as terrified of this class as I am?” 

Lila laughed. “Probably. But don’t worry, I heard we got the best lab instructor.”

“Really?” Marinette asked. She was glad to hear that. She picked the lab section based on time, not instructor, and couldn’t even remember if the instructor’s name was listed when she registered. 

Lila nodded. “My friend took this class last semester, and she told me that our instructor is totally hot. Hottest of all of the options.”

Marinette’s smile fell. “I thought you were going to say he’s helpful and will teach us well.”

Lila laughed, loud and abrasive. “Who cares if he can teach when he’s gorgeous.” Marinette shrugged, not wanting to fight with her. “I looked him up; he’s a former model. I hope he has lots of office hours, if you know what I mean.” Lila winked at her, and Marinette gave her a weak smile. 

Just what she needed was a former model teaching her physics. And a classmate who seemed more interested in earning her grade in immoral ways than learning the materials. 

Marinette spent the next few minutes refreshing the email app on her phone to avoid conversation. She heard Lila gasp when the door opened and assumed it was the instructor, who, judging by the whispering and titters that broke out across the room, was as gorgeous as Lila’s friend said. Marinette kept her head down. 

She put her phone away when the time changed to 11:00 exactly. The man at the front of the room cleared his throat. “Hello, everyone. Welcome to the lab section for Astrophysics 101. I’m Adrien, I’ll be your instructor for the semester.”

Marinette busied herself with pulling out the syllabus and opening her notebook to a blank page. 

“I know we’ll all have a lot of fun together in this class. I’ll start with roll call and then tell you a bit about myself.”

Marinette sighed and resigned herself to looking up, realizing at this point it would be rude not to. She lifted her eyes and froze. 

Chat Noir was standing at the front of the room, wearing a soft blue sweater and glasses. 

Even though she had never seen him without his mask, she knew instantly that she was right, without question, the same way she knew her own name. He had a sheet of paper in one hand, and he was looking down at it. 

“Margot Abilene,” he read off the list. An eager looking brunette in the front row raised her hand. Adrien nodded to her with a smile, his eyes scanning the room. He froze when he reached Marinette. 

They stayed like that, silently staring at one another, somehow communicating that they both had figured it out. She knew he knew with the same certainty that she did. They were partners, after all. 

The class grew restless as the moment stretched on.

Margot cleared her throat. “Present!” she called. 

Adrien blinked rapidly, as if just coming back to consciousness. A grin spread across his face, one that Marinette recognized, and she fought the sudden urge to bury her own face in her hands. He was smiling like he did when he won one of their races across Paris. 

He finally broke eye contact and looked back down at the list. Beside her, Lila poked her with the end of a pen. “How did you get so lucky?” she whispered. Marinette shrugged, unsure how she could ever begin to explain that, and internally freaking out over the fact that he was reading her name on that sheet of paper in his hand. 

Adrien proceeded through roll call slowly, making sure he checked off each name before moving on to the next. He scanned the room carefully with each name he read out, eyes darting to Marinette first each time. 

It seemed like ages until they reached the D’s. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

A thrill went through her at hearing the way his voice sounded saying her name. Taking a deep breath, Marinette slowly raised her hand into the air. She could feel the class looking at her, but all she could see was Chat, whose gaze had snapped to her the moment he finished reading her name. 

His smile lit up his entire face, and Marinette would have slapped him for being so obvious if she wasn’t sitting in the back corner of the room. It didn’t stop her from smiling right back. 

He went through the rest of the list at a noticeably quicker pace. He ended by saying very little about himself: he was teaching as part of his first year of graduate study, he had a degree in physics from the same university, he wanted to make class fun. He didn’t mention having modeled as Lila mentioned, or that he moonlighted as a superhero. 

Marinette struggled to pay attention for the rest of the class, as Adrien reviewed the syllabus again, and went through a list of important vocabulary from the first chapter of reading, all while constantly looking back at where she was sitting. 

She and Chat were close, very close, and had had many conversations over the years about revealing their identities. Marinette always imagined they would do it when they defeated Hawkmoth and knew that they were no longer in danger. Or, alternatively, in the heat of the moment when they were both on the brink of death, and he would kiss her with bruising intensity and tell her that he couldn’t die without knowing who she was. 

She never imagined it would be something as simple as a physics requirement. It was very anticlimactic. 

Marinette only realized that the class was over when she saw Lila put away her notebook and pull out a tube of lipstick. “Well, I don’t know what you did to attract his attention, but I’m about to go make sure he notices there are other students in here. No offense, hon.” She slathered the layer of makeup on her already red lips, checking her reflection in her phone camera. Marinette didn’t say anything but silently seethed. This was no longer just an attractive instructor. This was her kitty! 

She waited in the back of the room, slowly packing her bag and checking her phone. It took 15 minutes for Adrien to shake off Lila, Margot, and two other girls, one of whom had sat herself down on the corner of his desk. Lila shot Marinette a dark look on her way out the door. 

Marinette kept her head down as Adrien saw them out, knowing he would make sure that no one hung around after he closed the door. 

“Marinette.” 

Her breath caught again at the sound of him saying her name. 

“Adrien.”

She looked up at him, smiling his Chat Noir grin from the doorway. In most of her fantasies, Chat didn’t wear glasses. She found she liked it more than she expected to. 

They moved at the same time, always in sync. They met in the middle of the classroom, and Marinette leaped into his arms, knowing he would catch her. 

He did; her momentum so much that he had to lift her off the ground to keep his balance.

“M’lady,” he whispered into her hair. 

“Chaton,” she whispered back. 

He set her down, pulling back to study her face, his fingers gently tracing her cheeks where her mask usually lay. Marinette blushed. 

“I never imagined meeting you like this.” 

She smiled. It’s like he knew what she was thinking. “Me neither. I didn’t want to take this class.” Suddenly she smirked. “But I heard the lab instructor was hot, so I figured, why not.” She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. 

Chat had never been capable of looking nonchalant. He grinned, all his teeth showing. “Really? I hope I lived up to the expectation.”

Marinette pretended to think. “I suppose. But I really do need to learn the material. You wouldn’t happen to have office hours, would you?”

Adrien trailed his hand down her arm and squeezed her fingers. “I have limited time for the number of students I have to see,” he said seriously. “That’s what I told the others. I have a lot of extracurricular commitments.”

“I see,” Marinette said, fingers idly playing with the ring on his fourth finger. “Surely you can squeeze me in sometime?”

Adrien put his other hand to his chin as if deep in thought. “I might have some time on Thursday evenings. Around midnight, top of La Tour Eiffel?”

“Perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> I picture gradstudent!Adrien as Dr. Indiana Jones. Lila can be that girl that writes LOVE YOU on her eyelids.


End file.
